Grain-door.



F. VAN CAMP, SR. da E. VAN CAMP.

GRAIN DOOR.

APPLIOATIONPILBD JULY 12, 19o?.

Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

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GRAIN DOOR.

F. VAN CAMP, SR. & E. VAN CAMP.

` y APPLIOATION FILED JULY 1:2., 1907. 908,523.

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FREDERICK VAN CAMP, SR., AND EZRA VAN CAMP, OF IST. THOMAS, NORTH DAKOTA.

GRAIN-DOOR.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Jan. 5, 1909.

Application filed July 12, 1907. Serial No. 383,379.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that we, FREDERICK VAN CAMP, Sr., and EZRA VAN CAMP, of St. Thomas, county of Pembina, State of North Dakota, have invented certain new and useful improvements in Grain-Doors, of which the following is a specification.

Our invention relates to grain doors for freightl cars .and the object of the invention is to provide a door of simple economical construction and one which can be applied to any size and style of freight car.

A further object is to provide a door which can be easily and quickly secured in place and made thoroughly grain tight without the use of nails or other similar securing means.

A further object is to provide a door which can be easily and quickly adapted for use with grains of different kinds.

The invention consists generally in various constructions and combinations, all as hereinafter described and particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the accompanying drawing, forming part of this specification, Figure 1 is a front elevation of the outside of a freight car doorway illustrating our improved grain door arranged therein. Fig. 2 is a vertical transverse sectional view of the same. Fig. 3 is an elevation taken from the inside of the car looking toward the doorway. Fig. 4 is a detail sectional view illustrating the door raised up under the roof of the car. Fig. 5 is a sectional view on the line of Fig. 3.

In the drawing, 2 represents the side wall of the car and 3 the doorway having guideways 4 on each side for the vertically sliding door 5. The ends of the door are strengthened by metallic plates 6 and 'fit snugly in the guideways to prevent wheat or such small grain as ilaX from working out around the door. The door frame is provided on each side with outwardly extending metallic plates 7 having vertical slots S therein, provided with cam surfaces 9. Latch plates 10 are pivoted at 11 on the side of the car and have ends adapted to project through the slots 8 and lap by the ends of the door, bearing on the metallic plates 6 thereon'. Bars 12 are provided on each side of the doorway and are pivotally connected to the middle portions of the latch plates 10. Vertical movement of these bars will cause the latch plates to oscillate and swing up and down in the slots 8. When the bars are raised to the limit of their movement the latch plates will swing outof the slots to the position shown at the left hand in Fig. 3, and when the bars are moved downward the latch plates will enter the slots and contracting with the cam surfaces 9 be forced thereby against the ends of the door to press it firmly against the guideways and close the joint between the door and the sides of the car, thereby preventing the possibility of the escape of grain around the ends of the door.

For the purpose of operating the bars 12 we provide levers 13 pivoted at 14 on the side ofthe car and pivotally connected to the upper ends of the bars at 15. The door 5 is provided on its upper edge with an extension 16 connected to the door by a hinge 17 which extends entirely across the door andcarrying hooks 18 which have a sliding connection with the vertical guide rods 19 through rings 20, this being a common construction in grain doors of this type. The hinged eX tension 16 may be swung to a vertical position and secured by hooks 21, and for the purpose of increasing the height of the door when the car is filled with a light bulky grain. At other times the hooks 21 may be raised and the hinged extension allowed to swing down to a vertical position. When the door is not in use it may be raised to the top of the guide rods and swung up under the roof of the car and supported in that position by means of a hook 22.

For the purpose of raising the door 5 in the guideways 'we provide rack bars 23 secured to the door frame on the outside, and levers 24 are mounted on bolts 25 in the door 5 and are adapted to engage the rack bars to enable the operator to lift the door against the pressure of the grain. The levers have slots 26 therein to allow them to be moved back and forth on the bolts 25 and into and out of engagement Vwith the rack teeth. Plates 27 secured to the door 5 have notches 28 to receive the levers 24 and lock the door at any desired elevation on the rack bars.

lVe claim as our invention:

1. The combination, with a freight car having a door frame provided with vertical guideways, of a grain door adapted to slide vertically in said guideways, plates securedl to said door frame on each side thereof and projecting outwardly therefrom and having vertical slots at intervals therein provided on one side with cam edges, a series of latch plates pivoted at one end on said door frame and having their free ends projecting through said slots and adapted to lap by the ends of the door, said latch plates contacting with said cam edges when they are oscillated in said slots, means connecting said latch plates one with another at points intermediate to their ends and means located abovesaid door for moving said connecting means lengthwise and operating said latch plates to lock or release the door, substantiallyT as described.

2. The combination, with acar door frame having vertical guideways, of a grain door arranged to slide vertically in 'said guideways, vertical flanges mounted on said frame and extending outwardly in planes substantially at right angles to the lane of said door, said flanges having vertica slots provided on one side with edges having cam surfaces, a series of latch plates pivoted on said door frame at one end and having their free ends projecting through said slots and lapping by the ends of said door, vertically arranged bars provided at each end of said door and pivotally connected to said latch plates, whereby when said bars are raised or lowered said plates will be oscillated on their pivots to lock or release said door, and the engagement of said latches with the cam surfaces in said slots causing the ends to be pressed firmly against said door, for the purpose specified.

3. The combination, with a grain door frame, of a door vertically slidable therein, latch plates pivoted at one end on each side of said door and having their free ends arranged to lap by the ends of said door when they are swung down to a horizontal position and to clear the ends of said door when raised to an inclined position, plates having cam surfaces arranged to engage the free ends of said latch plates and press them inwardly against the ends of the door when said latch plates are depressed, vertical bars connecting said latch plates one with another on the same side of the door, and extending to a point near the top of the door frame and levers pivoted at one end on said frame and having a pivotal connection at a point intermediate to their ends on said bars for moving said bars lengthwise and operating said latch plates, substantially as describe In witness whereof, we have hereunto set our hands this 29th day of June 1907.

1 FREDERICK VAN CAMP, SR.

EZRA VAN CAMP. Witnesses:

J. B. ERA, J. H. BALDWIN. 

